Bless you for taking her in and caring for her during her elder years. What a heartbreaking situation for her to have been through alone! I am so glad she has someone to love and love her again.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Wed, Aug 28, 13 at 23:41

I am so impressed with your compassion. It will be very difficult to ascertain her age with much accuracy just like it is in humans, whose biological age doesn't necessarily reflect their chronological age. I have had many smaller dogs live with quality life well into their later teens, and that included two who were blind or nearly so. The biggest issue I ran into was consistency............toileting them appropriately to avoid accidents and like with toddlers it linked into regular mealtimes and developing a routine. Also inspecting them closely for skin issues when grooming so I could nip them in the bud. Otherwise, aside from perhaps spending more time sleeping, they weren't much different than any other dog. Even if their health suddenly declined and they eventually faced some more major health decisions where euthanasia might be the most reasonable and humane option..........you would have at least provided them a wonderful respite from their misery and the ends would have justified the means. Many who are lucky enough to even be rescued spend their last days in a cage in a shelter. Please advertise in case she has been lost or wandered away from a caring home. Believe it or not, it doesn't take long at all for some breeds to look as if they'd been neglected for eons. Especially if they were disabled.

God Bless you & your daughter for having the compassion to help this poor baby. You are both angels, and my only advice is to do what your doing and see what the vet says and just love her, which is something she probably hasnt had in a long time. Please keep us posted.
Christine

As far as advertising, be very very careful!! There are people out there who would claim her for despicable purposes. I would speak with your vet about how to find out if she wandered from home.

Give her some hugs and kisses from Snookums in cyberspace!

Awww, poor thing. She must have been stray for a long time or abused. Let us know what the prognosis is with your vet. She deserves a little comfort and spoiling after all she has suffered.

Hello all!

Thanks for the advice. I did look around the neighborhood area for flyers & online but nothing. She was found on the corner by an empty lot in a very rundown part of town. She may have had an owner but I find it hard to believe she could easily escape due to her slow & crippled gait. She's never been spayed & both vets said probably had little or no vet care.

Her eval showed she was heart worm negative & got a rabies shot. She has lost many teeth & has infected gums around those that are left. She has a collapsed eye & severe cataracts in the other with probably some awareness of light/shadow & very limited vision peripherally. She is partially to severely deaf. She does have a strong heart & clear lungs. She does have a large mammary tumor which cannot be diagnosed without biopsy. We hope to treat her teeth & take out the large tumor depending on another vet consult & her bloodwork

The vet recommends stabilizing her & that she is probably 12-14 yrs old. We are treating her for worms, antibiotics for her teeth and her collapsed eye. She is eating& drinking well. She seems to still have good sense of smell. Loves being petted, sleeps a lot & goes to the bathroom outside if taken often. She requires a lot of care but is very loving. Between me & my 2 daughters, I hope we can give her a good home for whatever time she has left even if only a year or two. We have named her Sophie & she has 2 doggie sisters, Lucy & Teddie.

Typing through tears, I am so happy for Sophie & you and your daughters as well. I will keep you all in my prayers. How wonderful she has found her forever loving home. She was brought into your lives for a reason. Best wishes Christine

What is her current situation with being able to walk? Still dragging her back legs? You said she is 'tumbling' about.. Quality of life should be centered primarily around this problem, as blindness is rarely a serious problem in old house pets, and chances are the mammary tumor is benign -statistically, that is... could be malignant, but still the most vital health issue seems to be her spinal one. Not being able to walk has serious complications as well as simply frustrating and problematic as far as getting around is concerned... there are issues with being able to defecate and urinate properly, keeping her perineum free of infection and irritation secondary to urine and fecal accumulation (keep here VERY well clipped back there). You can look into carts to help support the rear legs, but there very costly and not as simple to deal with as you might think (but still 'do-able')... Is she uncomfortable in her back? Can she stand at all? Can she go to the bathroom standing? If she can walk and do these things, she may even improve on anti-inflammatories, but at her age may not be an optimal surgical candidate.

All those questions need to be dealt with before a quality of life question can be answered. Not being able to walk is one of the most common reasons for euthanasia in pets so it is obviously a serious one.

But if she is walking satisfactorily and does not seem in any back pain, seems like you have got a decent and probably grateful pet on your hands. Good luck!

How is Sophie doing? You have touched many hearts with her story.

Susan

Hello all!

Update on Miss Sophie: she is doing very well. She is eating & drinking well...spoiled on homemade food boiled chicken, brown rice & veggies puréed for her bad teeth. Loves to get soft treats (Blue brand). We are giving her senior vitamins, antibiotics for her teeth & sunken eye.

And yes we had 2 vet evals... Waiting a few weeks for her to stabilize before another visit to see if we can or should treat any of her serious issues. She is walking better actually - especially today. I think her poor hydration & nutritional status were contributing to her lower disc problem that was diagnosed by the vet. She walks relatively fine with a rolling gait (though slow) - best on carpet or concrete outside but often with lose traction on slicker surfaces and her back legs will give out & splay out. But she rights herself & keeps going! I believe her state of exhaustion when my daughter picked her up contributed to her worse gait on that hot day. I'm going to buy a pet sling to carry her around when we go out. She seems fine being lifted, carried, cradled etc.

She can urinate & defecate normally & seems trained to outside or paper. Very few accidents. She has had normal bowel movemments after the first few days of diarrhea. She does stand to do both & even lifts her leg to urinate & tail up for both. She exhibits NO pain that we can see. We had her groomed his week & her rear clipped close - my groomer is wonderful (came to my house) & made Sophie's Fur clean, soft & smelling good.

She seems content & happy. Mostly wanting to be held or sit on our laps or next to us. She is thoroughly spoiled now - with a new collar, several beds, blankies, & a memory foam in her playpen. We carry her up the stairs when we go & she spends most of her time in our company. We never leave her alone unless she is in a secure place. Through observing, we feel she has very little sight or hearing but a good sense of smell.

She melted my heart today when after eating we were snuggling with her on my lap, she kept rubbing her head against my chest. I finally realized she was pressing her head against me to listen (feel) my heartbeat. She rested her head tightly against me & looked up with her one blind eye & her little snaggle tooth sticking out of one side of her mouth - and I told her she would never be alone again.

awwwww...... You are good people. She is lucky to have found you!

Well, now I have tears in my eyes. Yes, thank you for giving her a second chance of health and love.

How are you and Sophie doing? My Chihuahua mix fell asleep last night with her ear pressed against my heart, and I thought of you.

Hope you are all well.

Susan